Internal material system for facilitating material and asset movement within organizational infrastructures

ABSTRACT

Utilities that allow organizations to implement “best practices” life-cycle management, asset disposition and asset tracking with enhanced visibility and accountability. In one aspect, a utility for use with managing inventory within the infrastructure of a technology service provider includes receiving a first bill of materials (BOM) from a first physical location, accessing an asset inventory listing for the technology service provider, first allocating assets in the asset inventory listing associated with the first physical location to the quantity of the first requested part of the first line item, and second allocating assets in the asset inventory listing associated with one or more additional physical locations within the first market to the quantity of the first requested part responsive to the first using failing to result in fulfillment of the quantity of the first requested part of the first line item.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/252,086, entitled, “INTERNAL MATERIAL SYSTEM FOR FACILITATINGMATERIAL AND ASSET MOVEMENT WITHIN ORGANIZATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURES,” andfiled on Oct. 3, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporatedherein as is set forth in full.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to asset management and, moreparticularly to systems, methods and other utilities that facilitate themovement of assets within an organization's infrastructure for use inproviding life-cycle management, asset disposition and asset trackingwith enhanced accountability.

2. Relevant Background

Many companies in a wide variety of industries monitor the use anddisposition of assets of the companies for numerous in-house or internalpurposes. That is, as opposed to the management of inventory or supplythat is to be utilized to build a number of products for sale toend-users, companies are often concerned with the tracking of assets tobe used within an infrastructure of the companies. For instance, in thecase of technology service providers (e.g., mobile communicationsproviders, wire-line communication providers, installation andengineering providers, etc.), there is often emphasis on monitoring theuse of warehouse and spares inventory that include parts and equipmentsuch as antennas, switches, routers, multiplexors, cross connect panels,plug-ins, and the like.

SUMMARY

Existing products available to organizations for asset management leavemuch room for improvement in relation to more effectively managing suchassets to the benefit of organizations. In this regard, disclosed hereinare a number of systems, methods and the like (i.e., “utilities”) thatallow technology service providers to implement “best practices”life-cycle management, asset disposition and asset tracking withenhanced visibility and accountability. The disclosed utilities mayallow users to realize increased returns on investment (ROI), extensionof product lifecycles, and reduction of equipment costs and write-downsby way of improvement of spares management and forecasting and enhancedinventory control (e.g., through movement of assets to where they areneeded within the organization's infrastructure, real-time tracking andvisibility of asset movement, and the like).

In one aspect, a utility for use with managing inventory within theinfrastructure of a technology service provider is provided. The utilityincludes receiving, at a processing engine (e.g., a processor of aserver), at least a first bill of materials (BOM) that includes at leasta first line item. The first line item represents a quantity of at leasta first part requested for at least one project that is associated witha first physical location within a first market of the infrastructure.The utility also includes accessing in a database, using the processingengine, an asset inventory listing for the technology service provider;first using the processing engine to allocate, in the database, anyassets in the asset inventory listing associated with the first physicallocation to the quantity of the first requested part of the first lineitem; and second using the processing engine to allocate, in thedatabase, any assets in the asset inventory listing associated with oneor more additional physical locations within the first market to thequantity of the first requested part responsive to the first usingfailing to result in fulfillment of the quantity of the first requestedpart of the first line item.

That is, the utility first considers “on-hand” inventory available at ornear the originating point of the BOM request (i.e., within a warehouseat first physical location at or near the project for which the BOM isrequested) for fulfilling requested part quantities. Therefore, in thecase that the requested part quantity cannot be fulfilled by the on-handinventory, the utility then considers inventory at other physicallocations within a market of the first physical location (e.g.,materials that have been flagged as being available for consumption byBOMs associated with other physical locations). In the event thaton-hand inventory and other inventory within the first market fail tofulfill the requested part quantity, some variations of the utilitycontemplate allocating assets associated with physical locations of asecond market (where the first and second markets are disposed within afirst region of the providers infrastructure) to the requested partquantity and/or allocating assets associated with a second region of theinfrastructure to the requested part quantity.

In this regard, this utility allows for BOMs to be fulfilledsubstantially automatically by way of one or more expanding concentricsearches of a provider's complete inventory; doing so serves to limitthe long, time-consuming searches of various databases performed byexisting searching products and the accompanying errors. Morespecifically, the disclosed concentric searching may be with respect toeach technology service provider's infrastructure, where theinfrastructure is hierarchically organized into locations, markets,regions, and the like (e.g., where each market includes one or morelocations, each region includes one or more markets, and the like).Furthermore, as provider infrastructures may be appropriately organizedto satisfy various accounting and budgeting constraints, thehierarchically organized infrastructure need not necessarily begeographically organized.

For instance, while a location that is only an hour's drive from theoriginating location may be able to supply a requested part quantityimmediately, the location may be in a different region than theoriginating location and result in additional accounting and approvalprocesses that may essentially nullify any benefit owing to the closelocation of the part(s). As another example, a different location thatis two hours away within the same region as the originating locationcould also be shipped immediately but without the hassle of accountingor approvals (due to being in the same region as the originatinglocation). Thus, the utility allows provider managers and otheradministrators to customize the provider's infrastructure in any desiredmanner for use in the efficient movement of assets betweeninfrastructure locations.

In another aspect, a utility is disclosed for use with managinginventory within the infrastructure of a technology service providerthat includes providing a database including a prioritized listing ofbills of material (BOMs), where each BOM includes a plurality of lineitems, and where each line item represents a quantity of a partrequested for at least one project within the infrastructure. Theutility also includes determining, using a processing engine, anestimated issue date (EID) for asset quantities of the infrastructure(e.g., asset quantities that are considered to be “excess” within theinfrastructure) that match each line item of each BOM, where the EIDrepresents the soonest that the infrastructure asset quantities canfulfill the quantity of parts of the line item; and assigninginfrastructure asset quantities having sooner EIDs to line items of BOMsin the prioritized listing of BOMs that have higher priorities thanother BOMs. In this regard, the utility can advantageously assigninfrastructure assets with the soonest EIDs to the highest priorityBOMs.

In one arrangement, the utility may include positioning one BOM aboveanother BOM in the prioritized listing of BOMs (e.g., reprioritizing theBOMs); and then assigning, in response to the positioning,infrastructure asset quantities of a common part to line items of BOMsin the prioritized listing of BOMs that have higher priorities thanother BOMs (e.g., “reshuffling” infrastructure asset quantities). Afterthe assigning, an infrastructure asset quantity allocated to a commonpart line item of the one BOM has a sooner EID than does aninfrastructure asset quantity allocated to a common part line item ofthe other BOM (where the EIDs of the infrastructure asset quantities mayhave been vice versa before the BOM reprioritization). These stepsadvantageously allow higher priority BOMs to essentially utilizeinfrastructure assets that have already been ordered for other BOMs(i.e., robbing Peter to pay Paul) which may result in faster BOM lineitem fulfillment (e.g., as compared to having to newly order assets orparts for a BOM line item). In another arrangement, one or moreinfrastructure asset quantities can be locked or bound to a particularBOM line item which prevents the locked quantity from being“reshuffled”.

In another aspect, a method for use with managing inventory within theinfrastructure of a technology service provider includes providing adatabase including an asset inventory listing for the technology serviceprovider, the asset inventory listing comprising a plurality of lineitems respectively representing a plurality of parts available forconsumption by a respective plurality of physical locations within theinfrastructure; receiving, at a processing engine, a request to post afirst quantity of parts of a first line item of a physical location ofthe asset inventory listing into a material available (MA) status, wherethe MA status indicates that the first quantity of parts is to beavailable for consumption by projects associated with other physicallocations in the infrastructure; assigning, using the processing engine,a second quantity of parts of the first line item into MA status in thedatabase; and sending, from the processing engine in response toexpiration of a first predetermined period of time, a message requiringelection of continued MA status of the second quantity of parts or areturn to a non-MA status.

In one arrangement, the utility may include receiving, in response tothe sending, an election to continue MA status of the second quantity ofparts; continuing MA status of the second quantity of parts; and ending,from the processing engine in response to expiration of the firstpredetermined period of time, a message requiring election of continuedMA status of the second quantity of parts or a return to a non-MAstatus. In another arrangement, the utility may include assigning thesecond quantity of parts into a non-MA status upon expiration of asecond predetermined period of time in which the election has yet to bereceived at the processing engine.

In another aspect, a method for use with managing inventory within theinfrastructure of a technology service provider includes receiving, at aprocessing engine, asset data corresponding to movement of assets from afirst physical location to a second physical location within theinfrastructure. The asset data includes shipped asset data correspondingto assets reported to have been shipped from the first physical locationto the second physical location, received asset data corresponding toassets reported to have been received at the second physical locationfrom the first physical location, and status data comprising a firststatus of the assets within the infrastructure. The utility alsoincludes determining, using the processing engine, whether anydiscrepancies exist between the shipped and received asset data (e.g.,in quantities, part numbers, etc.); and, responsive to at least onediscrepancy existing during the determining, disallowing modification ofthe status data from the first status to at least one second statusuntil the at least one discrepancy is reconciled. This aspectadvantageously forces action on the part of an RMP or other user torectify the discrepancy as a failure to do so would prevent the assetsfrom being able to fulfill BOM line items, be sold by dealers, etc. and,in other words, would cause a chokepoint in the free and efficient flowof infrastructure assets.

In one variation, the utility may include receiving, at the processingengine, updated shipped and received asset data; determining, using theprocessing engine, whether any discrepancies exist between the shippedand received asset data, the shipped and received asset data includingthe updated shipped and received asset data; and responsive to thedetermining failing to detect the existence of any discrepancies betweenthe shipped and received asset data, allowing modification of the statusdata from the first status to the at least one second status.

In another aspect, a method for use with managing inventory within theinfrastructure of a technology service provider includes firstreceiving, at a processing engine as part of at least a first process,first asset data identifying at least one part to be used within theinfrastructure, wherein the first asset data comprises at least one partidentifier and at least one manufacturer identifier; accessing adatabase that includes a plurality of part and manufacturer identifierscorresponding to parts used within the infrastructure; locating the partand manufacturer identifiers of the first asset data in the database;determining, using the processing engine, that at least one of the partand manufacturer identifiers is an alias part or manufacturer identifierof a first master part identifier or a first manufacturer identifier inthe database; and replacing, in the first process, the at least onealias part or manufacturer identifier with the first master partidentifier or first master manufacturer identifier.

In one variation, the utility may include second receiving, at theprocessing engine as part of at least a second process, second assetdata identifying at least one part to be used within the infrastructure,wherein the second asset data comprises at least one part identifier andat least one manufacturer identifier; accessing the database; locatingthe part and manufacturer identifiers of the second asset data in thedatabase; determining, using the processing engine, that at least one ofthe part and manufacturer identifiers is an alias part or manufactureridentifier of the first master part identifier or first mastermanufacturer identifier in the database; and replacing, in the secondprocess, the at least one alias part or manufacturer identifier with thefirst master part identifier or first master manufacturer identifier,wherein the first and second processes correspond to use of the sameexact part within the infrastructure.

Any of the embodiments, arrangements, or the like discussed herein maybe used (either alone or in combination with other embodiments,arrangement, or the like) with any of the disclosed aspects. Merelyintroducing a feature in accordance with commonly accepted antecedentbasis practice does not limit the corresponding feature to the singular.Any failure to use phrases such as “at least one” does not limit thecorresponding feature to the singular. Use of the phrase “at leastgenerally,” “at least partially,” “substantially” or the like inrelation to a particular feature encompasses the correspondingcharacteristic and insubstantial variations thereof. Furthermore, areference of a feature in conjunction with the phrase “in oneembodiment” does not limit the use of the feature to a singleembodiment.

In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above,further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to thedrawings and by study of the following descriptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic system diagram illustrating the relationshipbetween a number of technology service providers and the functionalityof an asset management server according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 2-15 illustrate various screenshots of a portal of the server ofFIG. 1 accessible by technology service provider users for use inefficiently managing their internal assets.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of a method for monitoring infrastructureasset quantities that have been associated with a “material available”status.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of a method for performing concentricsearching of assets within a provider's infrastructure to fulfill BOMline items.

FIGS. 18-19 illustrate various screenshots of the portal of FIG. 1.

FIG. 20 is a flow diagram of a method for reprioritizing BOMs andreshuffling matching infrastructure assets among BOM line items after acorresponding BOM reprioritization.

FIGS. 21-22 illustrate various screenshots of the portal of FIG. 1.

FIG. 23 is a flow diagram of a method for monitoring asset shipmentsbetween locations of a service provider and/or third parties.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure generally relates to utilities designed to alloworganizations to more efficiently manage and monitor movement of theirinternal assets (i.e., as opposed to inventory and supplies intended toform part of products for end-users) within the infrastructures of theorganizations for use in fulfilling BOM requests, improving spares andwarehouse inventory usage, extending product lifecycles, and the like.In much of the following discussion, various utilities are discussed inthe context of service providers (i.e., entities that provide servicessuch as subscription or web services to other entities) such ascommunications service providers (e.g., telecommunications servicesproviders) as doing so is particularly useful due to the extent of theinfrastructure of such providers involving the movement of numeroustypes of assets (e.g., parts necessary to build cellular towers,switching stations, etc.) between locations of the infrastructure. Itshould be appreciated that the disclosed utilities may, in somearrangements, be utilized in contexts other than service providers.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a functional block diagram of a system 100 isillustrated that may be used to efficiently manage and track the use andmovement of organizational (e.g., technology service provider) assets towhere such assets are needed within the provider infrastructures. Thesystem 100 includes at least one server 104 that broadly receivescustomer (e.g., provider) data (e.g., master parts lists, asset data,infrastructure information, etc.) and subsequently processes such datausing one or more modules (either individually or in combination) in amanner that allows customers to effectively manage their internalassets. The server 104 may be in communication with one or moreorganizations such as one or more service providers 108 (each includingan infrastructure of locations, markets, etc. as will be discussedbelow) by way of one or more networks 112 (e.g., Internet, WANs, LANs).While the server 104 is shown as a single device (e.g., server, laptop,desktop, mobile device, and/or other computing device), one or morefunctionalities, processes or modules of the server 104 may be allocatedamong a plurality of machines, devices and/or processes which may or maynot be embodied in a single housing. In one arrangement, functionalitiesof the server 104 may be embodied in any appropriate cloud ordistributed computing environment.

The server 104 may include memory 116 (e.g., one or more RAM or othervolatile memory modules), a processing engine or unit 120 (e.g., one ormore CPUs) for executing computer readable instructions from the memory116, storage 124 (e.g., one or more magnetic disks or other non-volatilememory modules), and/or a number of other components 128 (e.g., inputdevices such as a keyboard and mouse, output devices such as a displayand speakers, and the like), all of which may be appropriatelyinterconnected by a system bus 132. While not shown, the server 104 mayinclude any appropriate number and arrangement of interfaces that mayfacilitate interconnection between the system bus 132 and the variouscomponents of the server 104 as well as with other devices (e.g.,providers 108).

As shown, the memory 116 may include a portal 136 (e.g., an Internet orweb-based platform) in addition to a number of programs or modules (forexecution by the processing unit 120) that may be accessed by the portal136 for use in efficiently managing and controlling warehouse and sparesinventories of the providers 108. For instance, any appropriate browser(not shown) running on client devices (e.g., including memory,processor, storage, display, etc.) of the providers 108 mayappropriately access the portal 136 via network(s) 112 (which may entailentering or providing any appropriate credentials such as user name andpassword). While reference will now be made to a number ofrepresentative screenshots of the portal 136 that may be presented on adisplay of a client device of a provider 108 and that may be manipulatedby each provider users (e.g., by administrators, managers, and/or otherusers) to manage and monitor their internal inventories, it should beunderstood that the various functionalities disclosed herein are notlimited to use with such specific screenshots. Rather, the screenshotsare merely provided to facilitate the reader's understanding of thevarious programs, modules and other functionalities disclosed herein.

Starting now at FIG. 2, various screenshots of the portal 136 will beillustrated that broadly provide users with the ability to track assetstatus in real-time, facilitate movement of assets between to where theyare needed within the provider infrastructures, and the like. Like manyof the other screenshots that will be discussed below, the screenshot200 in FIG. 2 includes a number of “first-level” buttons 204 (or othertypes of user-manipulable features), a number of “second level” buttons208 (or other types of user-manipulable features), and/or a number of“third level” buttons 212 (or other types of user manipulable features)for use in accessing the various functionalities herein. In onearrangement, the first level buttons 204 may remain the same throughoutthe various screenshots while the second and/or third level buttons 208,212 may change (to provide access to different functionalities)depending upon which of the first level buttons 204 (or second levelbuttons 208) have been manipulated. It should be understood, however,that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific arrangementsand names of buttons, drop-down menus, and the like shown in the presentfigures. Rather, these features have only been provided to assist thereader in understanding the various functionalities disclosed herein.

In this screenshot 200, a “company settings” button 204 and “companyinfo” button 208 have been manipulated which broadly allow a serviceprovider to set and/or upload specific provider information to be usedby the various functionalities disclosed herein (e.g., and which may beappropriately stored in storage 124). More specifically, FIG. 2illustrates a number of cells 216 (and/or other features) that may bepresented upon manipulation of a “main company information” button 212and that may be populated with basic provider contact information (e.g.,name, address, phone number, website address, etc.).

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate screenshots 220, 224, 228 that may be presentedupon respective manipulation of “manage region,” “manage market,” and“manage location” buttons 212. Each provider 108 may utilize thesebuttons 212 to establish any desired infrastructure within whichprovider assets are to be managed. As shown in FIG. 3, the screenshot220 may include a column 232 listing a number of regions (e.g., “MainRegion,” “Corporate,” etc.) of a provider, a button 236 that allows forthe addition of additional regions, a drop-down menu 238 that allows forediting and other processing of one or more of the regions, and/or anumber of other user manipulable features. As shown in FIG. 4, thescreenshot 224 may include a column 240 listing a number of markets(e.g., “Corporate,” “Main Market,” etc.), a column 244 listing theregion (as provided in FIG. 3) within which each market resides, abutton 248 that allows for the addition of additional markets, adrop-down menu 252 that allows for editing and other processing of oneor more of the regions, and/or a number of additional user manipulablefeatures.

As shown in FIG. 5, the screenshot 228 may include a column 256 listinga number of physical locations (e.g., cities, warehouses, etc., such as“Atlanta,” “Alpha,” etc.), a column 260 listing the market within whicheach of the locations resides, a section 264 within which contact andidentification data of one or more of the locations can be manipulated,a button 268 that allows for the addition of additional locations, adrop-down menu 272 that allows for the editing and other processing ofone or more of the locations, and/or a number of additional usermanipulable features. In this regard, each provider may be able toestablish any desired hierarchical infrastructure (e.g., where eachregion includes one or more markets, and where each market includes oneor more locations) that may be stored in a customer infrastructuredatabase 274 and used by the functionalities disclosed herein toefficiently move assets between provider locations. Further discussionin relation to hierarchically organized infrastructures will be providedbelow.

Turning to FIG. 6, another screenshot 276 may be presented on a user'sdisplay upon manipulation of a “parts management” button 208 and a“master parts” button 212. This screenshot 276 illustrates informationrelated to each of a number of physical parts (i.e., assets) used in theinfrastructure of a particular service provider. Before discussing thescreenshot 276 in more detail, it is noted that the memory 116 of theserver 104 may include a “fuzzy” searching module 404 (e.g., one or moresets of computer-readable instructions) that works in conjunction withother modules and functionalities disclosed herein to allow for“intelligent” searching capabilities. As will be appreciated throughoutthis discussion, provision and storage of various pieces of identifyingdata for each part (e.g., master part number, manufacturer name,internal code, etc.) advantageously allows the fuzzy searching module404 to perform fuzzy searching and/or cross-referencing of the pieces ofdata as part of many of the other processes disclosed herein (e.g.,during initial loading of part numbers and manufacturer names, wheninfrastructure locations are updating asset quantities, loading BOMs,etc.) to increase the ability of the server 104 to accurately identifypart matches (e.g., such as reducing the likelihood that two identicalparts are surmised to be different due to differing internal codes usedat different locations within a service provider's infrastructure).

For instance, the screenshot 276 may include a “part number” column 280that lists a master part number or name for each respective part, a“manufacturer” column 284 that indicates a manufacturer or supplier foreach respective part, an “internal code” column 288 that indicates apossibly unique internal code or number for each part, a “HECI/CLEI”column 292 that indicates a code or number used by the manufacturer toidentify the part, a “description” column 296 that allows a user toenter any appropriate description for each part, and an “action” column300 that allows a user to take one or more actions with respect to eachpart. The various pieces of data illustrated in the screenshot 276 maybe stored in a customer master parts database 304 corresponding to eachparticular service provider.

To modify the data in any of the various columns 280-296 for aparticular part, an icon (or button or other user manipulable feature)in the action column 300 for the part may be manipulated to cause thedisplay of a pop-up window 308. Turning now to FIG. 7, anotherscreenshot 306 may be presented which includes the pop-up window 308.For instance, the pop-up window 308 may include a number of cells,drop-down menus and the like that allow a user to modify or otherwiseset any of the data in the columns 280-296 as well as other types ofidentifying information or metrics for the particular part (e.g.,dimensions, weight, etc.). As shown, one cell 312 (or other feature) ofthe pop-up window 308 allows a user to enter one or more alternate partnumbers for the particular part being edited (that, along with the otherpieces of identifying information and metrics, is linked to andcross-referenced with the part number and each of the other pieces ofinformation and metrics in the database 304). Provision of an alternatepart number allows, for instance, the fuzzy searching module 404 tofacilitate fulfillment of a particular BOM line item quantity even ifthe originally requested part (i.e., the part being edited in thisexample) is unavailable in the provider's infrastructure or otherwisenon-locatable.

Another feature of the pop-up window 308 may be a drop-down menu 316 (orother feature) that allows a user to select a “part class” for theparticular part name or number provided in column 280. Here, while eachof the part names or numbers shown in column 280 is, in this example, a“master” part name or number, a user may be able to use the drop-downmenu 316 (and/or other user manipulable features) to make a particularpart number a “secondary” part number, “tertiary” part number, or othertype of alias part number of another part number in which case such partnumbers would be appropriately linked and cross-referenced in thedatabase 304. In one arrangement, the alias part number could be removedfrom column 280 and could populate an appropriate cell in the pop-upwindow 308 of the master part number (not shown). While also not shown,the portal 136 may include an “all parts” or other similar type ofbutton 212 that, when manipulated, causes the display of a columnshowing all part numbers (i.e., whether master or alias part numbers)used in the provider's infrastructure. For instance, an administrator orother user, upon determining that two different part numbers in column280 are really identifying the same physical part, could make one of thepart numbers a “secondary” or “alias” part number of the other partnumber. Thus, the database 304 may be a dynamic, evolving database thatcan become more accurate over time with continued user inputs,modifications, etc. As a result, the fuzzy searching module 404 mayutilize the database 304 to enhance the ability of many of the othermodules and functionalities disclosed herein (which will be discussedmore fully below) to more efficiently manage and monitor asset movementand disposition within a provider's infrastructure.

Turning now to FIG. 8, another screenshot 320 may be presented to a userupon manipulation of a “master manufacturers” button 212. As shown, thisscreenshot 320 may include a “manufacturer” column 324 that indicates anumber of master manufacturer names or numbers used in theinfrastructure. For each name in the column 324, an expand button 328(or other feature) may be provided that, when manipulated, may cause thedisplay of a column 332 listing any alias manufacturer namescorresponding to the particular master manufacturer name. Like the aliaspart numbers, each of the alias manufacturer names are provided as a wayof saying that a first alias name (e.g., “airtel123” in FIG. 8) is thesame as a second alias name (e.g., “airtel11” in FIG. 8), both of whichcorrespond to a master name (e.g., “Airtel” in FIG. 8). In this regard,the fuzzy searching module 404, upon accessing the database 304 andperforming appropriate cross-referencing, would be able to surmise thatthe first and second alias names are really referring to the samemanufacturer.

For instance, imagine that users associated with first and secondlocations within a provider's infrastructure both enter the same partnumber (e.g., “AUA23”) but different manufacturer names into the portal136 for storage in a customer asset database 339 (e.g., which includesavailable part or asset quantities at each of the locations) and/or aBOMs database 340 (e.g., which includes one or more BOMs of projectsassociated with each of the locations). Some previous systems would onlyconsider the part numbers and possibly incorrectly assume that the twolocations are referring to the same physical part (because, forinstance, different manufacturers may utilize the same part number).However, the fuzzy searching module 404 includes one or more layers ofcross-referencing to confirm whether or not the two locations arereferring to the same physical part. For instance, the fuzzy searchingmodule 404 may access the database 304 to determine whether thedifferent manufacturer names are referring to the same manufacturer(e.g., if one name is an alias of another) or different manufacturers(in which case the two entries from the first and second locations arereferring to different part numbers, despite using the exact same partnumber). Additional types of cross-referencing may be included.

With continued reference to the screenshot 320 of FIG. 8 and similar tothe management of part numbers, a user may be able to appropriately setmaster manufacturer names, aliases thereof, and the like. For instance,the screenshot 320 may include a “master/alias” column 333 including aplurality of drop-down menus (or other features) that allow a user toselectively opt to make a particular manufacturer name a master or analias. In the case where a user opts to make a first of the manufacturernames in column 324 an alias name, the user could manipulate theappropriate drop-down menu in the column 333 to cause “make alias” to bedisplayed, and then manipulate an appropriate “merge with” drop-downmenu (or other feature) in an “action” column 334 to select a second ofthe manufacturer names in the column 324 of which the first manufacturername is to be an alias. As with the part number information, themanufacturer name information may be appropriately stored in thecustomer parts database 304 or other appropriate database so as to becross-referenced against the part number information.

The screenshots 276, 306, 320 may also include “add part” and “uploadmaster set” buttons 212 that, upon manipulation thereof, cause thepresentation of screenshots (not shown) that allow a service provideruser to respectively input additional individual parts or upload aportion or an entirety of a customer master parts set (e.g., in the formof one or more data structures including part numbers, internal codes,etc.) into the customer master parts database 304 for use by the variousfunctionalities disclosed herein (e.g., from corresponding customermaster parts and customer asset databases 109, 110, see FIG. 1).Furthermore, the screenshots 276, 306, 320 may include “approve parts”and “approve manufacturers” buttons 212 that, upon manipulation thereof,cause the presentation of screenshots (not shown) that allow a user toindicate one or more parts or manufacturers as being “masters” or“aliases” in the event that the one or more parts or manufacturer namesare not recognized by the fuzzy searching module 404. For instance, inaddition to any customer parts information that was previously loadedand stored in the database 304, the server 104 may also include at leastone “default” master parts database 305 including information similar tothat discussed above (e.g., part numbers, manufacturer names, etc.) andthat may gathered from one or more previously stored master partsdatabases (e.g., from the same or different service providers). In thisregard, use of the “add part” and/or “upload master set” buttons 212 toinput or upload part numbers may cause the fuzzy searching module 400 tosearch (e.g., via cross-referencing) for any previously loadedinformation corresponding to the same physical part or manufacturer and,in the event of a failure to identify previously stored information,cause the screenshots corresponding to the “approve part” and “approvemanufacturer” buttons 212 to display one or more parts or manufacturersto identify as being masters or aliases (of another master).

In one arrangement, the fuzzy searching module 404, concentric searchingmodule 406 (discussed below) and/or other functionalities disclosedherein may utilize kitting (i.e., the placement or association of two ormore items or parts together to form one group or one single item). Forinstance, during the loading of inventory by service providers, kittingmay be used to identify a specific part number being loaded into theserver 104. That is, while a user may enter part identifying informationcorresponding to only a single part, the fuzzy searching module 404 mayunderstand that the particular identifying information actuallycorresponds to a specific grouping of other parts and specificquantities of these parts. For instance, while a user may be able toobserve the single entered part number or line item, the user may alsobe able to go into a “kitting” screenshot or view and observe the actuallistings and levels of all the parts associated with that “kit.” The kitcould simply be a single level of a grouping of various parts or be amixture of parts and other kits. With this knowledge, users couldcontinue to drill down to the multiple levels that could be containedwithin increasing numbers of kits. For instance, a service provider cannot only designate the parts within a kit and groupings of kits withinkits with endless levels or groupings, but the lowest level parts withinsuch kits may be tied into the customer master parts database 304.

Turning now to FIG. 9, another screenshot 336 may be illustrated uponmanipulation of an “asset management” button 204 under an AMS (assetmanagement system) tab 205 of the portal 136. In additional to the AMStab 205, the portal 136 also includes an IMS (internal material system)tab 206. For reference and as used herein, the AMS can be thought of asthe collection of modules, processes and functionalities of the system100 disclosed herein that are generally responsible for maintaining andproviding inventory statuses and views of on-hand or local parts andmaterials of a particular infrastructure location, allowing for theposting of local parts into one of a number of “processes,” and thelike. As also used herein, IMS can be thought of as the collection ofmodules, processes and functionalities of the system 100 disclosedherein that are generally responsible for enabling movement of assets towhere they are needed within the provider's infrastructure, detectingand allowing for the reconciliation of delivery discrepancies betweeninfrastructure locations, and the like. It will be appreciatedthroughout this discussion how the AMS and IMS are operable toseamlessly function together to enable service providers to efficientlyutilize their internal inventories (i.e., those assets intended forinternal consumption as opposed to assets intended for use in productsfor end-users outside of the provider's infrastructure).

As illustrated, manipulation of an “asset maintenance” button 208 and a“manage parts” button 212 may cause the display of part identificationinformation (e.g., at least some of that shown in FIG. 6) as well asquantity levels, statuses, etc. for a desired location within a providerinfrastructure market and/or region. The screenshot 336 may include adrop-down menu 338 (or other feature) that allows a user to select adesired infrastructure location (e.g., as shown, an “alpha” location)along with a number of columns that include information specific to eachof a number of parts associated with the selected location. Forinstance, the screenshot 336 may include a plurality of columns 340 thatinclude identifying information for each of a plurality of parts (e.g.,part number, HECI, internal code, manufacturer, etc.).

The screenshot 336 may also include a plurality of columns 341 thatindicate various inventory levels or metrics for each of the parts. Oneof the columns 341 may be an “available quantity” column 344 thatprovides an indication (e.g., numerical) of a quantity of each of thevarious parts of the selected location that is “available” to be putinto one or more “processes” as will be discussed in more detail below.Another of the columns 341 may be a “spare quantity” column 346 thatprovides a quantity of each part that is being reserved for one or morepurposes or otherwise withheld from allocation to one or more of theprocesses. Another of the columns 341 may be an “in process” column 348that provides the quantity of each part that is currently in a process.It should be understood that the quantities in the columns 344, 346 and348 are mutually exclusive (e.g., a part quantity that is “available”cannot also be “spare” or “in process”). In any case, there may also bea “total quantity” column 342 that provides an indication of a summationof values of the columns 344, 346 and 348 for each part.

For a greater understanding of the “processes” that available partquantities may be put into, reference is now made to the screenshot 350of FIG. 10. As shown, an expand button 352 (or other feature) of aparticular part has been manipulated to cause the display of a number ofcells that specify the various processes into which quantities of theparticular part are currently allocated. One cell may be a “WTSquantity” cell 356 (“Want To Sell” quantity cell) that indicates thequantity of the particular part that has been consigned to a dealer orother party for sale on a secondary market or at least has beenrequested to be sold on a secondary market. Another cell may be an “IMSquantity” cell 358 that indicates that quantity of the particular partthat has been allocated for possible use or consumption by BOMsoriginating from infrastructure locations other than the currentlocation (e.g., the location selected in drop-down menu 338 in FIG. 9).Another cell may be a “BOM quantity” cell 360 that indicates thequantity of the particular part that has been allocated to BOMsoriginating from the current location. The screenshot 350 may alsoinclude a “total quantity in process” cell 354 that is a summation ofthe cells 356, 358, 360 and which corresponds to the value in the “inprocess” cell 348 for the particular part from FIG. 9.

As discussed above, part quantities associated with infrastructurelocations can be put into one or more processes such as moving the partquantities from one infrastructure location to another infrastructurelocation to fulfill a BOM line item, posting a part quantity into an MAstatus, consigning the parts to a dealer, and the like. As will bediscussed more fully below, BOMs originating from a particular location(e.g., the “alpha” location as selected and shown in FIGS. 9-10) mayfirst be fulfilled from “available” quantities (e.g., see column 344 inFIG. 9) of the particular location. For instance, part quantitiesassociated with an “Alpha” location that are currently allocated to BOMsoriginating from the Alpha location may be added to the “BOM quantity”cell 360 as being currently assigned to a BOM process. In the event thata particular part quantity has been in an “available” status for morethan a predetermined or desired period of time (e.g., a time periodindicating that the part quantity is becoming stale), users (e.g.,regional material planners or RMPs) may opt to find other uses for suchpart quantities (e.g., by way of posting such part quantities into oneor more processes).

With continued reference to FIG. 10, a user may appropriately select oneor more desired parts which are to be posted into a process (e.g., viaselecting a checkbox 362 or other user manipulable feature) and thenselect a “process” button 364 (or other feature); doing so may presentthe screenshot 366 of FIG. 11 which may include a “post selected as IMS”button 368 and a “post selected as WTS” button 370. For instance, beforeconsigning the particular part quantities to a dealer for sale on asecondary market (which would be possible via manipulating the “postselected as WTS” button 370, a user may desire to make the partquantities available for consumption by BOMs originating from otherlocations within the provider's infrastructure (e.g., such as by sendingthe part quantities into a process that changes a status of the partquantities into a “material available” (MA) status indicating that thepart quantities can be consumed by other locations within theinfrastructure). In this regard, manipulation of the “post selected asIMS” button 368 may cause the display of the screenshot 372 in FIG. 12which allows the user to select a particular quantity of the “available”quantity of each of the particular parts to be submitted to IMS forpossible consumption by other infrastructure locations (among otherpossible actions).

Upon selection of desired part quantities in appropriate cells 374 inthe screenshot 372, the user may manipulate a “submit to IMS” button 376that causes a status of the part quantities to be changed from an“available” status to another status (e.g., a “pending processing”status) where, for instance, such statuses may be appropriately storedin the customer asset database 339. Furthermore, opting to submit theparticular part quantities to IMS may cause the generation of a “pendingposting” line item or message that may be presented to any appropriatepersonnel or administrator (e.g., RMP) to determine whether and/or howthe part quantities are to be made available to other infrastructurelocations. Turning now to FIG. 13, another screenshot 380 of the portal136 is shown up manipulation of the “submit to IMS” button 376 and thatpresents a plurality of processes for a corresponding plurality of partquantities as uploaded by one or more users (e.g., personnel associatedwith infrastructure locations where such part quantities reside) to beacted on by an RMP or other appropriate personnel (e.g., to move thepart quantities into another process). Alternatively, an RMP or otherpersonnel may access the screenshot 380 upon manipulation of an“Internal Material System” button 204 and a “pending postings” button208.

In any case, the screenshot 380 may include a number of columns thatinclude information for the plurality of processes such as, inter alia,a “process ID” column 382 that displays a unique ID to be used by systemcomponents and functionalities to monitor and keep track of theprocessing for a particular part quantity, an “action” column 384including a number of buttons or other user manipulable features thatallow an RMP to take a particular action (discussed below) with respectto a particular process, among other columns (e.g., upload date, partlyresponsible for upload, status, part quantity, etc.). An RMP or otherpersonnel may peruse the processes in the screenshot 380 to determinewhich process(es) to take action on. For instance, the RMP may choose toaddress pending processes according to upload date (e.g., via addressingthe oldest first), part quantity, and/or in any other appropriatemanner. Once the RMP has decided which process to act on, the “RMPaction” button (or other feature) corresponding to the particularprocess in the “action” column 384 may be manipulated to allow the RMPto take one or more appropriate actions with respect to the pending partquantity process.

Turning now to FIG. 14, another screenshot 386 may be presented upon theRMP or other personnel deciding which process to take action on. In thisscreenshot 386, a number of cells 388 may be presented which may bepopulated with part identifying information (e.g., at least some of thatshown in the screenshot 276 of FIG. 6), inventory information (e.g.,total quantity uploaded for IMS processing), and the like. Thescreenshot 386 may also include a drop-down menu 390 (or other feature)that allows the RMP to select one of a number of actions to take withrespect to the part in addition to cell 391 (or other feature) thatallows the RMP to choose the specific amount of the total quantity ofthe part for which the action is to be taken such as the entire totalquantity or some portion of the total quantity (e.g., the cell 391 maybe initially automatically populated with the total quantity). As shownin the drop-down menu 390, the RMP may opt to send the selected partquantity to sale/recycle (e.g., via consigning the part quantity to adealer), return (e.g., returning the part quantity to the originatinglocation in “available” status), ADT/administrator (e.g., which allowsfor tracking of serialized assets), or MA (i.e., make the part quantityavailable for consumption by infrastructure locations other than thelocation from which the part quantity process was uploaded). The RMP mayalso choose to reject the part quantity from processing (e.g., viareturning the part quantity to the “available” status at the originatinglocation) or retain the part quantity for use. Upon selection of aparticular part quantity in cell 391 and a particular action to take indrop-down menu 390, the RMP or other user may select a “process” buttonin order to take the selected action for the selected part quantity. Theparticular process ID (from the process ID column in FIG. 13) may thenbe appropriately linked or bound to the selected process (e.g.,sale/recycle, MA status, etc.) in the system and appropriately stored inthe customer asset database 339 for use or access by other components,modules and functionalities disclosed herein.

Turning now to FIG. 15, another screenshot 393 of the portal 136 may bepresented upon manipulation of the “material availability” button 208and the “view” or “my view” button 212. Generally, this screenshot 393presents a list of part quantities from infrastructure locations thathave been approved for MA status (where manipulation of the “view”button 212 presents part quantities in MA status originating from otherlocations and manipulation of the “my view” button 212 presents partquantities in MA status originating from a current or user-definedlocation). As with the other listings of data and information shown inother screenshots presented herein, the data shown in the screenshot 393may be stored in any appropriate database in storage 124 for access bythe portal 136. For instance, this screenshot 393 may include a “processID” column 413 that includes identifiers that link approved partquantities to MA processes and thus MA statuses, a number of partidentifying information columns 414 that include part numbers, internalcodes, etc. representing the parts of each MA process, a “quantity”column 415 that provides the quantity of a particular part that is in MAstatus, an “available” column 417 that provides a numerical indicationof the quantity of parts that is currently available for consumption byBOM line items, a “pending” column 419 that provides a numericalindication of the quantity of parts that have already been requested fora BOM of a particular infrastructure location, a “days active” column421 that provides a number days (and/or other time increments) that theparticular part quantity has been in MA status, an “action” column 423that allows an RMP or other user to take one or more actions withrespect to the particular part quantity (e.g., return to an “available”status at the originating location, send for sale/recycle, and thelike), and/or one or more additional columns (e.g., status, time, etc.).

As discussed throughout this disclosure, the present functionalities andutilities advantageously allow technology service providers to implement“best practices” life-cycle management, asset disposition and assettracking with enhanced visibility and accountability. In this regard,the server 104 may include what will be referred to as an “MA status”module 405 (see FIG. 1) that broadly serves to monitor the listing ofpart quantities that have been placed into an MA status andautomatically “cleanse” the listing of part quantities that haveremained in MA status for more than a user-defined period of timeindicating that it may be more beneficial to take another action withrespect to the particular part quantities (e.g., sending tosale/recycle, returning to originating location, etc.).

Turning now to FIG. 16, a method 600 is shown (which may be representedby the MA status module 405) that may be executed by the processor 120for use in monitoring and cleansing the MA status listing shown in FIG.15. The method 600 may include determining 602 whether a firstpredetermined time period has expired. For instance, RMPs or other usersmay, upon approving an MA status of a particular part quantity (e.g., inscreenshot 386 of FIG. 14), select a particular period of time (e.g., 60days, 90 days, etc.) for which the part quantity may stay “active”(e.g., in the absence of a user requesting the part quantity to fulfilla BOM line item). If the answer to the query at 602 is no, then themethod 600 may continue to cycle back to 602. In response to a positiveanswer at 602 (i.e., a determination that the predetermined time periodhas expired), the method 600 may proceed to send 604 a message thatrequires election of either continued MA status of the part quantity ora change to one or more non-MA statuses (e.g., sent for sale, returnedto originating location, etc.). For instance, an email or other type ofmessage may be sent to the RMP or other user informing the user of theexpiry of the first predetermined time period. In one arrangement, thefirst predetermined time period may be the time period selected by theuser (e.g., 60 days, 90 days). In another arrangement, the firstpredetermined time period may be automatically backed out of theuser-selected maximum days-active period. As just one example, if theuser selected 60 days, the first predetermined time period may be 53days or, in other words, one week before the user-selected 60 dayperiod.

In any event, the method 600 may then inquire 606 whether a responsemessage was received in response to the message sent at 604 indicatingwhether and how the status of the part quantity is to be changed. Inresponse to a positive answer at 606, the method 600 may proceed tomaintain or change 608 the part quantity status based on the responsemessage and end 610 (and/or return to one or more steps of the method600). For instance, if the response message included instructions tomaintain MA status for an additional 60 days, the method 600 may proceedto do so and reset the first or other predetermined time period andreturn to 602. As another example, if the response message includedinstructions to send the part quantity for sale by an approved dealer,the method 600 may proceed to change the status of the part quantity to“sent to dealer” or other appropriate status (e.g., by disassociatingthe part quantity from the particular process ID shown in column 413 ofFIG. 15) and end at 610.

In response to a negative answer at 606, the method 600 may proceed toquery 612 whether a second predetermined time period has expired. Forinstance, the RMP or other use may be given a period of time (e.g.,day(s), week(s), etc.) within which to respond to the electionrequirement sent at 604. In response to a negative answer at 612, themethod 600 may proceed to cycle back to 606 to make another inquiry. Inresponse to a positive answer at 612, the method 600 may proceed toautomatically change 614 the status of the particular part quantity froman MA status to any appropriate non-MA status (e.g., a “returned tooriginating location” or other appropriate status). As can beappreciated, the method 600 advantageous serves to avoid or at leastlimit the maintaining of “stale” part quantities in MA status that maybe more efficiently utilized elsewhere in the provider's infrastructureor even on a secondary market.

Briefly returning to the screenshot 336 of FIG. 9, another button thatmay be available to a user upon manipulation of the “asset management”button 204 may be a “BOM” button 208. Broadly, manipulation of the BOMbutton 208 allows a user to observe the status of BOMs (e.g., datastructures including originating or “requested from” locations; one ormore line items including part identifying information such as partnumbers, internal codes, manufacturer names etc. as well as requestedquantity numbers; and the like) originating from projects associatedwith one or more desired locations within the provider's infrastructure,issue one or more BOMs, upload one or more BOMs, and the like.Initially, one or more users may select a “BOM upload” button 212 tocause the display of a screenshot (not shown) that allows the users toupload one or more BOMs for one or more projects associated with anydesired infrastructure location(s). Stated differently, each BOM may beuploaded from the perspective of a particular infrastructure location,where each location may be located within a particular market, and eachmarket may be located within a particular region (see above discussionin relation to FIGS. 3-5). Each BOM may generally be in the form of adata structure made up of one or more line items, where each line itemrepresents a quantity of a particular part requested for at least oneproject associated with the particular infrastructure location. Tocreate and upload a BOM, users may populate each line item (not shown)with any appropriate part identifying information (e.g., at least someof that shown in the screenshot 276 of FIG. 6, such as part number,manufacturer name, internal code, etc.), requested quantities, and thelike. Upon creation of a BOM, the BOM may be tagged with a “BOM ID” (orother unique identifier) and uploaded to the server 104 (e.g., to a BOMdatabase 340).

Upon upload of a BOM to the server 104 and/or at any other appropriatetime (e.g., according to a predetermined schedule), the server 104 mayfunction to fulfill the various line items of the BOM from assets of theservice provider. In this regard, the memory 116 of the server 104 mayinclude what will be referred to as a “concentric parts searchingmodule” 406 that broadly serves to initially consider available or“on-hand” or excess inventory of the original infrastructure locationfrom which the BOM was uploaded (i.e., inventory that is not currentlyallocated to a particular project and not currently planned to be used)followed by successive considerations of infrastructure locations thatare more and more remote from the original location in terms ofinfrastructure levels.

With reference now to FIG. 17, a method 700 is shown (which may berepresented by the concentric searching module 406) that may be executedby the processor 120 for use in fulfilling one or more BOM line items.The method 700 may include receiving 702 a BOM including at least oneline item representing a quantity of a first part for a project in afirst location in a first market of a service provider's infrastructure.For instance, and as discussed above, various users of a particularservice provider infrastructure may upload BOMs from the perspective ofvarious locations within the infrastructure (it is noted that the BOMneed not necessarily be literally uploaded from a computer physicallywithin the particular location or warehouse) which may be received atthe server 104 and appropriately stored (e.g., in BOMs database 340).The method 700 may then include accessing 704 an asset inventory listingin a database (e.g., customer asset database 339) and “softly”allocating 706 matching assets in the listing that are associated withthe first location to the first part quantity.

As an example, imagine that the BOM was uploaded from a location “Alpha”within a particular service provider's infrastructure and that the BOMincluded a line item having a quantity of 200 of a part identified by apart number of “@D3.0K” and a manufacturer named “Ericsson Inc.”Returning briefly to FIG. 9, the screenshot 336 illustrates, asdiscussed previously, asset inventory information for the location“Alpha.” As shown in the second row in the list of parts, the Alphalocation includes a part identified by the part number “@D3.0K” andmanufacturer “Ericsson Inc.” As also shown, there is an “available”quantity of 47 of this part at the Alpha location. In this regard, theconcentric searching module 406 may serve to allocate (e.g., “softly”allocated) all 47 of the available quantity of the part to the BOM.Accordingly, the available quantity of this part may be reduced to zeroin the screenshot 336 while the “in process” quantity of this part maybe increased to 97 in the screenshot 336 (a summation of the 50 alreadyin process and the 47 newly in process).

The concentric searching module 406 may utilize or otherwise work inconjunction with the fuzzy searching module 404 as part of locating andidentifying parts to fulfill BOM requests. For instance, imagine that,instead of “@D3.0K,” the user who uploaded the BOM utilized “10366” inthe line item to identify the desired part. In this case, the fuzzysearching module 404 may serve to identify “10366” as an internal code,and then determine, via cross-referencing, that the desired partcorresponds to the part number “@D3.0K.” Therefore, the part number“@D3.0K” may be used as part of identifying matching asset quantities ofthe infrastructure. As another example, imagine that the user loaded amanufacturer name of “Erc” instead of “Ericsson, Inc.” Here, the fuzzysearching module 404 may serve to recognize “Erc” as an aliasmanufacturer name of a master name of “Ericsson, Inc.” (e.g., see column332 in FIG. 8) to confirm that the correct part has been identified(e.g., in the event that different manufacturers both utilized “@D3.0K”to identify the same physical part). Numerous other examples exist ofhow the fuzzy searching module 404 may function to identify theappropriate part requested in a BOM line item.

In any case, the method 700 may query 708 whether the first partquantity has been fulfilled and end 710 in response to affirmativeanswer to the query 708. In the event the first part quantity has notbeen fulfilled (as in the above example where only 47 of the requested200 were fulfilled from “on-hand” inventory of the originatinginfrastructure location), the method 700 may proceed to allocate 712 anyassets in the inventory listing (e.g., the customer asset database 339)associated with other locations in the first market to the first partquantity (i.e., any portion of the part quantity not fulfilled byon-hand inventory in step 706). For instance, and returning to FIG. 5,the Alpha location from which the present BOM was loaded from may belocated within a first market named “Main Market” along with a number ofother locations such as “Arvind,” “Atlanta,” “Augusta,” and “Las Vegas.”

Here, the method 700 proceeds to collectively (e.g., free of regard toany relation between the originating location and the other marketlocations, other than being located within the same market) consider anymatching assets from all of the locations within the “Main Market” thathave an MA status (e.g., from a plurality of data structures similar tothat in FIG. 9 for each of such locations). As discussed above inrelation to FIGS. 10-14, assets that have been placed into an MA statusmay be available for consumption by line items of BOMs that originatefrom locations other than the location where the assets currently resideor are otherwise assigned to. As also discussed previously, a number ofphysical locations may be placed within the same “market” for a numberof accounting and/or other reasons. In this regard, consideration of“matching” assets in MA status from such locations (i.e., in the eventthat the originating location cannot satisfy or fulfill all of therequested part quantities) may be more beneficial than other locations(e.g., even if located geographically closer to the originating locationthan locations within the first market) or even secondary market sourcesdue to such accounting and/or other financial reasons.

Again, the method 700 may query 714 whether the first part quantity hasbeen fulfilled and end 710 in response to an affirmative answer to thequery 714. In the event the first part quantity has not been fulfilled,the method may proceed to allocate any assets in the inventory listingassociated with locations within at least a second market to the firstpart quantity (i.e., any portion of the part quantity not fulfilled bysteps 706 and 712), where the first and second markets are locatedwithin a common first region. For instance, and returning to FIG. 4,“Main Market” is located within a region named “Main Region,” along withother markets named “Corporate,” “Gaj Market,” “Main,” and “testnwh.”Here, the method 700 would proceed to collectively consider any matchingassets from all locations within one or more (e.g., all) of theCorporate, Gaj Market, Main and testnwh markets that have an MA status,and softly allocate such assets to the first part quantity accordingly.

The method 700 may then query 718 whether the first part quantity hasbeen fulfilled and end 710 in response to an affirmative answer to thequery 718. In the event the first part quantity has not been fulfilled,the method 700 may proceed to allocate any assets in the inventorylisting associated with at least a second region of the providerinfrastructure to the first part quantity (i.e., any portion of the partquantity not fulfilled by steps 706, 712 and 716). For instance, andreturning to FIG. 3, the provider's infrastructure may include a numberof other regions such as “Test region 1,” “Test region 2,” etc. In thisregard, the method 700 may proceed to collectively consider any matchingassets from all locations within one or more (e.g., all) of Test Region1, Test Region 2, etc. that have MA status and softly allocate suchassets to the first part quantity accordingly. The method 700 may thenagain query 722 whether the first part quantity has been fulfilled andend 710 responsive to an affirmative answer to the query 722. Inresponse to a negative answer to the query at 722, the method 700 mayproceed to access any appropriate secondary market outside of theprovider's infrastructure to locate corresponding matching assets.

In one arrangement, the concentric searching module 406 may utilizekitting as part of the searching process. For instance, when the module406 is attempting to locate a kit (e.g., as identified by one or more ofa kit number, code, etc.) associated with other infrastructurelocations, it will look not only for that same kit but also for each ofthe multiple parts making up the kit. Stated differently, in the eventthat the particular kit is not identified from infrastructure assets,the module 406 may also proceed to search for all of the parts (andpossibly alternate parts) that make up the kit individually throughoutthe provider's infrastructure. In one arrangement, a user may benotified of the need to go out and find the individual parts if themodule 406 is unable to find a packaged “kit” in the infrastructure. Inanother arrangement, a user may be asked whether the user wantsalternates to be substituted within a kit for a particular BOM lineitem. For instance, choosing to allow the alternate part may cause themodule 406 to lock the alternate part to the particular BOM so that uponanother kit being loaded within another BOM that needs to look forindividual parts, the module 406 may again require a human decision toallow or deny use of the same alternate part within the BOM matching andpulling process.

Turning now to FIG. 18, another screenshot 394 of the portal 136 may bepresented to a user upon manipulation of the BOM button 208 and a “view”button 212. This screenshot 394 presents a list of all BOMs that havebeen uploaded from a particular infrastructure location for one or moreprojects associated with the particular infrastructure location andprocessed by the concentric searching module 406 (e.g., in conjunctionwith the fuzzy searching module 404) in an attempt to fulfill thevarious individual line items of the BOMs. The screenshot 394 mayinclude a number of columns such as a priority column 416 (discussed inmore detail below), a “BOM ID” column 418, a “from” column 420(indicating which location the BOM was uploaded from), a “status” column422 (e.g., initially matched, ready for issue, closed, etc.), a“matched” column 424 (discussed further below), an “EID” or “estimatedissue date” column 426, an “action” column 428, and/or one or more othercolumns of information related to the BOMs.

For instance, a BOM having a status in the status column 422 of“initially matched” indicates that the concentric searching module 406has made at least one attempt to search for and softly allocate matchingassets to line item quantities of the BOM, but that any matching assetsare not yet ready for issue. As another example, a BOM having a statusof “ready for issue” indicates that not only has the concentricsearching module 406 made at least one pass at locating and softlyallocating matching assets to line item quantities of the BOM, but thatat least some of the located matching assets can be immediately issued(e.g., because such matching assets were either originally on-hand atthe originating location of the BOM upon loading of the BOM or are nowon-hand after requesting match assets in MA status from anotherlocation).

With reference to the second BOM (e.g., having a BOM ID of “BOM0001062”)in the list shown in FIG. 18, for instance, this BOM has a status of“initially matched” (see column 422) and a value in the matched column424 of “10110” which indicates that this BOM includes at least one lineitem representing a quantity of 10 of at least one part, and that all 10of the at least one part have been matched to assets (but not yet readyfor issue as the status in column 422 is only “initially matched”instead of “ready for issue”). Upon manipulation of the “view” button incolumn 428, a user may be presented with the screenshot 430 shown inFIG. 19 which provides more detailed information regarding the matchingof infrastructure assets to the line item quantities of the BOM.

This screenshot 430 may include a number of portions (e.g., each ofwhich may be appropriately expanded and collapsed) such as a“matched|ready to issue” portion 432, an “IMS>MA matches|requests”portion 434, a “matched−other|qty requested by email” portion 436 and/oran “unmatched|unordered” portion 438. Each of the portions 432-438 isbroadly operable to provide BOM line item quantity status information inrelation to various types of infrastructure assets. Portion 432 maygenerally provide an indication of the numbers of a particular line itemquantity that have been matched by infrastructure assets and that areeither ready to issue/be pulled or are currently in process to bedelivered to the BOM originating location (in this case, the “Alpha”location).

For instance, portion 432 in FIG. 19 may include a row 433 correspondingto a particular line item and having one or more cells 435 with partidentifying information (e.g., part number, internal code, manufacturername, etc.), a cell 440 that displays the requested quantity of thisline item of the BOM, a cell 442 that displays an available topull/issue quantity (in this example, zero), a cell 444 that displaysthe quantity that is currently in process to be delivered to theoriginating location and has thus been “softly” allocated to therequested line item quantity (in this example, 10, or in other words,the entire quantity of 10 in this BOM line item), a cell 446 thatprovides the estimated issue date or EID for the quantity that iscurrently in process, and a cell 448 that provides the estimated time toarrival or ETA of the quantity that is currently in process, among oneor more other cells. In one arrangement, the row 433 may be expanded toprovide historical information regarding when matches were found ininfrastructure assets by the concentric searching module 406, when suchassets were sent for shipment to the originating location, and the like.While not shown, any “available/pull quantity” shown in cell 442 (evenif less than the requested line item quantity) may be processed (e.g.,via manipulating “process” button 437) which causes the actual issue ordelivery of the quantity to the specific location of the projectrequesting the BOM (which may be the same as or different than the“originating” location as used herein). While also not shown, additionalBOM line items may be represented by additional rows within this portion433.

With continued reference to FIG. 19, the portion 434 may generallyprovide an indication of a number of matching assets in MA status withinthe infrastructure (where the matching assets in MA status have beenconsidered by the concentric searching module 406 in the mannerdiscussed in the method 700 of FIG. 17) that are available for requestbut that have not yet been requested and have not yet entered a process(such as the quantity of 10 in process pending status in the cell 446 inthe first portion 433). While not shown, expansion of the portion 434may cause the presentation of a number of cells, drop-down menus,buttons and/or other features that provide a user with the ability torequest a particular quantity of assets in MA status that havepreviously been matched by the concentric searching module 406.

The portion 436 may generally provide an indication of a number ofmatching assets within or available to the infrastructure that are notin MA status (i.e., assets that have not specifically been requested byusers to be made available for consumption by BOMs originating fromlocations other than the location where such assets currently reside orare otherwise associated with). For instance, such assets may includethose that have been consigned to a dealer but not yet sold. In thiscase, expansion of the portion 436 may provide the ability for a user torequest such assets back from consignment for use in fulfilling aparticular line item quantity. As with requests for assets in MA statusin portion 434, requests for assets in non-MA status entails thegeneration of a process within the system that is tagged with aparticular process ID (discussed later with respect to FIG. 21) and acorresponding increase in the quantity displayed in the cell 444 inportion 433 to indicate that such assets have been softly allocated tothe particular line item quantity. The manner in which non-MA statusassets are considered for possible soft allocation to the line itemquantity may proceed according to the method 700 of FIG. 15 (i.e.,consideration of non-“available” assets at the originating locationfollowed by consideration of non-MA status assets at other locationswithin the originating location's market followed by consideration ofnon-MA status assets at locations within other markets of theoriginating location's region followed by consideration of non-MA statusassets at locations within other regions). Any non-matched assets may beindicated in the portion 438 which may indicate the need to order suchassets from a secondary market. Of course, a subsequent search by theconcentric searching module 406 for line item quantities may change thevarious matching or unmatched quantities indicated in the portions 432,434, 436, 438 (e.g., due to the ever-changing inventories ofinfrastructure locations).

Returning to FIG. 18, each of the BOMs shown in the screenshot 394includes a particular number in the priority column 416 that broadlyindicates an order (relative to the other BOMs) in which infrastructureassets are to be allocated (e.g., softly) to the various line itemquantities of the BOMs. That is, in the event that each of two or moreBOMs includes at least one line item representing a quantity of the samephysical part, matching infrastructure assets having the soonest EIDwould first be allocated to the highest priority BOM's line item,followed by the line item of the BOM having the next highest priority,and so on. In this regard, the server 104 may include a BOMreprioritization module 408 (see FIG. 1) that broadly serves to allocatematching infrastructure assets according to BOM priority as well asre-allocate matching assets to corresponding BOM line items in the eventthat the priority number for one or more BOMs is reprioritized orotherwise changed.

With additional reference now to FIG. 20, a method 800 is shown (whichmay be represented by the BOM reprioritization module 408) that may beexecuted by the processor 120 for use in automatically assigning orallocating infrastructure assets to BOM line items according to aprioritized listing of BOM as well as reassigning or reallocatinginfrastructure assets to BOM line items upon a change in the prioritizedBOM listing. The method 800 may include obtaining 802 EIDs for matchingpart quantities of each line item of each BOM in a prioritized listingof BOMs in a database. As discussed above in relation to FIGS. 17-19,BOMs may be uploaded or otherwise requested from various locationswithin the provider's infrastructure and stored in the BOMs database 340or other appropriate location and subsequently accessed by theconcentric searching module 406 for use in fulfilling the various BOMline items. For instance, the concentric searching module 406 mayperform initial searching for matching infrastructure assets for thevarious BOMs as discussed above in any appropriate manner, such as uponloading of a BOM into the database 340, according to a predeterminedschedule, etc.

As discussed previously, matching infrastructure part quantities of BOMline items are assigned EIDs (e.g., see column 426 in FIG. 16 and cell446 in FIG. 19) which generally convey the soonest that the matchingquantity (e.g., corresponding to a matching part, a user-definedalternate part, and/or a kit) can be issued or pulled when consideringavailable inventory (i.e., on-hand inventory at the BOM originatinglocation, e.g., see cell 442 in FIG. 19), inventory that isincoming/ordered or otherwise in process to be delivered to the BOMoriginating location (e.g., see cell 444 in FIG. 19), and/or internalshipments between warehouses. Returning to FIG. 16, imagine that theBOMs in priority positions one and two (in this example, BOM IDsBOM0001066 and BOM0001062) both include first line items that representquantities of the same physical part (e.g., as determined by the fuzzysearching module 404). Furthermore, imagine that after the concentricsearching module 406 has proceeded to search for matching assets withinthe provider's infrastructure for the various BOM line items, matchingasset quantities have been identified where a first quantity of matchingassets has a first EID and a second quantity of matching assets has asecond EID that is later in time than the first EID. It should beappreciated that identification of the first quantity of matching assetshaving the sooner EID need not necessarily be a result of the first BOMto be processed by the concentric searching module 406. For instance, itis envisioned that the first BOM may be processed by the concentricsearching module 406 resulting in matching assets having a first EID,and at some later time, the second BOM may be processed by theconcentric searching module 406 resulting in the same matching assetsbut having a second EID that is sooner or earlier in time that the firstEID.

In any event, the method 800 may include assigning 804 matching partquantities having sooner EIDs to higher priority BOMs in the prioritizedlisting of BOMs. In the above example, the first quantity of matchingassets would be used to fulfill the first line item quantity of thefirst priority BOM; any remaining portion of the first quantity ofmatching assets would be used to fulfill the first line item quantity ofthe second priority BOM followed by, if necessary, at least a portion ofthe second quantity of matching assets (or additional quantities ofmatching assets). Of course, if other lower priority BOMs in the listingalso include line items representing the same physical part, anymatching assets would be appropriately allocated to such line items in amanner so that line items of higher priority BOMs are fulfilled withmatching assets having sooner EID than are line items of lower priorityBOMs. Furthermore, similar allocation of matching infrastructure assetsapplies to BOMs having more than one line item.

The method 800 may also proceed to query 806 whether one or more BOMs inthe listing are to be reprioritized and end 808 if no BOMs are to bereprioritized. For instance, in the event that it has becomeincreasingly important to complete an infrastructure project associatedwith a lower priority BOM in a reduced period of time, a user may chooseto move its corresponding BOM to a higher priority position in thelisting. Again with reference to FIG. 18, a user could move the BOMcurrently in priority position ten to priority position five such as bymodifying the corresponding cell in the priority column 416 to read “5,”clicking or tapping some portion of the row representing the BOM anddragging the BOM up to priority position five, and/or in one or moreother appropriate manners. In one arrangement, a user may be required toclick or otherwise manipulate a “process” or “reprioritize BOMs”-typebutton (not shown) after one or more BOMs have been moved to one or moredesired positions in the priority listing.

In the event of a positive answer to the inquiry at 806, the method 800may proceed to assign 810, responsive to the BOM reprioritization,matching infrastructure part quantities having sooner EIDs to line itemsof higher priority BOMs so that a matching infrastructure part quantityof a first line item of a first BOM that has been newly reprioritizedabove at least a second BOM has a sooner EID that does a matchinginfrastructure part quantity of a common first line item of the at leastsecond BOM. Stated differently, the method 800 may essentially proceedto group or otherwise collectively consider all of infrastructure assetsthat had been softly allocated to BOM line item quantities and then“reshuffle” the assets so that the line items of BOMs moved higher inpriority may now be fulfilled with matching assets having EIDs that aresooner the matching asset EIDs that existed before the reprioritizationand reshuffling (where the reprioritization could include theprioritization of one BOM or many BOMs).

For instance, in the event that a BOM is moved up to a differentpriority position, each of the BOMs below the newly moved BOM has nowbeen moved down a priority position. Furthermore, various combinationsof reprioritizing BOMs both upwardly and downwardly are envisioned. Inany case, the disclosed process of reprioritizing BOMs and reshufflinginfrastructure assets among BOM line items based on the reprioritizingmay be likened to the “robbing Peter to pay Paul” analogy asinfrastructure assets that were previously assigned to line items of afirst BOM (and maybe even specifically ordered for the first BOM) maynow be assigned to line items of a different, second BOM. Thus, asopposed to the manual, time-intensive and error prone process currentlyused by most companies to reprioritize BOM line item, the disclosedprocesses automate the BOM reprioritization process and allow forefficient and accurate reshuffling of infrastructure assets among BOMline item quantities based on the reprioritization and correspondinginventory allocation and management. In one arrangement, users may beable to “lock” or “bind” matching infrastructure quantities toparticular BOM line items to prevent such locked quantities from beingallocated to line items of other BOMs during the reshuffling process. Inother words, such locked or bound infrastructure quantities may be“hard” allocated to the BOM line items. In this regard, users mayessentially be able to prioritize infrastructure asset allocation at aline item level (i.e., in addition to at a BOM level as discussedabove).

As discussed throughout this disclosure, various part quantities of theprovider's infrastructure may be placed into a number of differentprocesses (e.g., internal movement of a part quantity in MA statusbetween infrastructure locations to fulfill a BOM line item, movement ofa part quantity between an infrastructure location and a third partysuch as a dealer, etc.). In another aspect of the present disclosure,placement of a part quantity into at least some of the processes maycause a corresponding initiation of an “ADT” (asset dispositiontracking) process or posting that broadly serves to track shipped andreceived assets between locations (e.g., infrastructure location toinfrastructure location, infrastructure location to third party and/orthird party to third part) by way of comparing shipped and receivedlists, highlighting discrepancies, and updating asset data in thecustomer asset database 339 (e.g., changing the status of a particularasset from “in transit” to “received” and adjusting the asset count heldby each location).

Turning now to FIG. 21, another screenshot 450 of the portal 136 isillustrated that broadly presents a list of processes (identified bycorresponding process IDs) that have been posted for ADT processing. Forinstance, the screenshot 450 may include a “process ID” column 452 (thatidentifies the corresponding process that caused initiation of ADTprocessing, such as a BOM process, a “send to recycle” process, etc.), a“total shipped quantity” column 454, a “total received quantity” column456, a “+/−” column 457 (e.g., showing discrepancies between shipped andreceived assets), a “shipper/receiver” column 458, an “action” column460 (e.g., that allows a user to take at least one action with respectto the part quantity), and/or one or more other columns (e.g., location,market, poster, etc.).

In relation to ADT, the server 104 may include an ADT module 412 (seeFIG. 1) that broadly serves to monitor shipments and take correspondingactions depending upon a status of the shipments. Turning now to FIG.23, a method 900 is shown (which may be represented by the ADT module412) that may be executed by the processor 120 for use in monitoringshipments between internal infrastructure locations and/or third partylocations. The method 900 may include receiving 902 asset datacorresponding to movement of assets from a first location(infrastructure third party) to a second location (infrastructure orthird party). For instance, and turning to the screenshot 462 of FIG. 22(which may result upon manipulation of a “view” button in the “action”column 460 corresponding to a particular process in FIG. 21), the assetdata may include shipped asset data corresponding to assets reported tohave been shipped from a first physical location to a second physicallocation (see column 464 in FIG. 22), received asset data correspondingto assets reported to have been received at the second physical locationfrom the first physical location (see column 466 in FIG. 22), and statusdata including a first status of the assets within the infrastructure(not shown, but a status such as “in transit,” “in process,” or thelike). In one arrangement, the receiving location may be required toupload received asset data in any appropriate format (e.g., as part of aspreadsheet) to the server 104 over network(s) 112 which may beappropriately parsed, stored in storage 124, and accessed by portal 136to populate one or more cells in the column 466.

In any case, the method 900 may eventually proceed to query 904 whetherdiscrepancies exist between the shipped and received asset data (e.g.,quantities, part numbers, etc.). For instance, note how the column 464indicates a shipped quantity of 10 and the column 466 indicates areceived quantity of 1 for a particular part identified by a part numberof “3S444,” an internal code of “6268,” and a manufacturer name of“Nortel Networks Inc.” As a result, it may be preliminarily determinedthat a discrepancy exists between the shipped and received asset dataand the method 900 may proceed to disallow 908 changes to the status ofthe corresponding assets (i.e., from an “in transit” status to a“received” status). The method 900 may then proceed to query 910 whetherupdated asset data has been received (e.g., from an RMP) and continue tocycle back to 908 if updated asset data has not been received. When andif updated asset data is received, the method 900 may again query 912whether discrepancies exist between the shipped and received asset dataas modified by the updated data. If discrepancies continue to exist, themethod 900 may flow back to 908. If no discrepancies are determined toexist between the shipped and received asset data (e.g., both correspondto a quantity of 10 of the same part) at either 904 or 912, the method900 may flow to 906 and proceed to allow status changes of the assetsfrom a first status (e.g., “in transit”) to a second status (e.g.,“received”).

It should be appreciated how disallowing changes to the status of suchassets essentially forces action on the part of an RMP or other user torectify the discrepancy because a failure to do so would prevent theassets from being able to fulfill BOM line items, be sold by dealers,etc. In other words, a failure to act by the RMP or other user wouldcause a chokepoint in the free and efficient flow of infrastructureassets. For instance, in the case of an internal shipment of aparticular asset quantity from a first infrastructure location to asecond infrastructure location to fulfill a line item of a BOMoriginating at the second location, a user would not be able to issuethe BOM (or other BOM in the case of a BOM reprioritization) until theparticular asset quantity has been accorded a status of “received,”“ready to issue,” and/or the like. In this regard, preventing a changeto a status of “received” or “ready to issue” until shipped/receivedquantity discrepancies have been resolved advantageously forces RMPs orother users to correct such discrepancies which thereby increases theaccuracy of infrastructure records and related data. For instance, andwhile not shown, an RMP or other user may be directed from thescreenshot 462 of FIG. 22 to another screenshot (not shown, e.g., uponmanipulation of any appropriate button or other feature) whereby the RMPmay be able to manually modify or updated shipped and/or received assetdata (e.g., quantities, part identifying data, etc.) for storage in thecustomer asset database 339. Part of this process may require the RMP tocommunicate with managers resident at the physical locations betweenwhich the assets were/are being shipped to confirm the actualshipment/receipt of the assets (and/or lack thereof). The updatedshipped and/or received asset data may then be reanalyzed to determinewhether discrepancies still exist (e.g., at step 912 of FIG. 23) wherebythe user may be required to again modify the data or else the assetstatus may be appropriately changed.

The present functionalities may also include one or more “reporting”functionalities that take kitting into consideration. In onearrangement, and rather than simply knowing there are “x” number of kitsin stock, the reporting functionalities can provide reports on allassets regardless of “kit” associations and listings within the system.For instance, while a kit might be listed as “xyz,” the reportingfunctionality may provide the ability to include as a kit or not as akit in a reporting dump of assets per location or provider-wide. In thisregard, it may be clear as to how many items of “x that the providerreally has, be it in a kit or listed as a piece part within theirinventory listing providing the ability to combine piece parts that arewithin a designated kit and in piece parts to get a more accurate counton actual assets on hand.

While this disclosure contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of the disclosure or of what maybe claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific toparticular embodiments of the disclosure. Furthermore, numerous otherarrangements are envisioned. Furthermore, certain features that aredescribed in this specification in the context of separate embodimentscan also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment.Conversely, various features that are described in the context of asingle embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodimentsseparately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, althoughfeatures may be described above as acting in certain combinations andeven initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimedcombination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and theclaimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation ofa sub combination.

One or more computer programs (also known as a program, software,software application, script, or code) used to provide the functionalitydescribed herein (such as to perform concentric parts searching, BOMreprioritization and line item reshuffling, and the like) can be writtenin any form of programming language, including compiled or interpretedlanguages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unitsuitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does notnecessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can bestored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g.,one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a singlefile dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinatedfiles (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub-programs, orportions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed onone computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site ordistributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communicationnetwork.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application-specific integrated circuit). Processors suitable for theexecution of a computer program include, by way of example, both generaland special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors ofany kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receiveinstructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memoryor both. Generally, the elements of a computer are a processor forperforming instructions and one or more memory devices for storinginstructions and data. The techniques described herein may beimplemented by a computer system configured to provide the functionalitydescribed.

In different embodiments, system 100 (i.e., the server 104, one or moreproviders 108, etc.) may include one or more of various types ofdevices, including, but not limited to a personal computer system,desktop computer, laptop, notebook, or netbook computer, mainframecomputer system, handheld computer, workstation, network computer,application server, storage device, a consumer electronics device suchas a camera, camcorder, set top box, mobile device, video game console,handheld video game device, a peripheral device such as a switch, modem,router, or, in general, any type of computing or electronic device.

Typically, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled toreceive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storagedevices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, oroptical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover,a computer can be embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone,a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio player, a GlobalPositioning System (GPS) receiver, a digital camera, to name just a few.Computer-readable media suitable for storing computer programinstructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, mediaand memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memorydevices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks,e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; andCD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can besupplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry. Toprovide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subject matterdescribed in this specification can be implemented on a computer havinga display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystaldisplay) monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboardand a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the usercan provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used toprovide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedbackprovided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visualfeedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from theuser can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactileinput.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and/or parallelprocessing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of varioussystem components in the embodiments described above should not beunderstood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and itshould be understood that the described program components and systemscan generally be integrated together in a single software and/orhardware product or packaged into multiple software and/or hardwareproducts.

The above described embodiments including the preferred embodiment andthe best mode of the invention known to the inventor at the time offiling are given by illustrative examples only.

1-21. (canceled)
 22. A method for use with managing inventory within theinfrastructure of a technology service provider, the method comprising:providing a database comprising an asset inventory listing for thetechnology service provider, the asset inventory listing comprising aplurality of line items respectively representing a plurality of partsavailable for consumption by a respective plurality of physicallocations within the infrastructure; receiving, at a processing engine,a request to post a first quantity of parts of a first line item of aphysical location of the asset inventory listing into a materialavailable (MA) status, wherein the MA status indicates that the firstquantity of parts is to be available for consumption by projectsassociated with other physical locations in the infrastructure;assigning, using the processing engine, a second quantity of parts ofthe first line item into MA status in the database; and sending, fromthe processing engine in response to expiration of a first predeterminedperiod of time, a message requiring election of continued MA status ofthe second quantity of parts or a return to a non-MA status.
 23. Themethod of claim 22, wherein the second quantity of parts equals thefirst quantity of parts.
 24. The method of claim 22, wherein the secondquantity of parts is different than the first quantity of parts.
 25. Themethod of claim 24, wherein the second quantity of parts is less thanthe first quantity of parts.
 26. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising before the assigning: approving assignment of the secondquantity of parts into the MA status.
 27. The method of claim 22,further comprising: receiving, in response to the sending, an electionto continue MA status of the second quantity of parts; continuing MAstatus of the second quantity of parts; and sending, from the processingengine in response to expiration of the first predetermined period oftime, a message requiring election of continued MA status of the secondquantity of parts or a return to a non-MA status.
 28. The method ofclaim 22, further comprising: assigning the second quantity of partsinto a non-MA status upon expiration of a second predetermined period oftime in which the election has yet to be received at the processingengine.
 29. A method for use with managing inventory within theinfrastructure of a technology service provider, the method comprising:receiving, at a processing engine, asset data corresponding to movementof assets from a first physical location to a second physical locationwithin the infrastructure, wherein the asset data includes: shippedasset data corresponding to assets reported to have been shipped fromthe first physical location to the second physical location; receivedasset data corresponding to assets reported to have been received at thesecond physical location from the first physical location; and statusdata comprising a first status of the assets within the infrastructure;determining, using the processing engine, whether any discrepanciesexist between the shipped and received asset data; and responsive to atleast one discrepancy existing during the determining, disallowingmodification of the status data from the first status to at least onesecond status until the at least one discrepancy is reconciled.
 30. Themethod of claim 29, wherein the shipped asset data includes a quantityof the assets reported to have been shipped from the first physicallocation to the second physical location, wherein the received assetdata includes a quantity of the assets reported to have been received atthe second physical location from the first physical location, andwherein the at least one discrepancy comprises a difference between theshipped asset data quantity and the received asset data quantity. 31.The method of claim 29, wherein the shipped asset data includes at leastone part number representing the assets reported to have been shippedfrom the first physical location to the second physical location,wherein the received asset data includes at least one part numberrepresenting the assets reported to have been received at the secondphysical location from the first physical location, and wherein the atleast one discrepancy comprises a difference between the at least oneshipped asset data part number and the at least one received asset datapart number
 32. The method of claim 29, further comprising: receiving,at the processing engine, updated shipped and received asset data;determining, using the processing engine, whether any discrepanciesexist between the shipped and received asset data, the shipped andreceived asset data including the updated shipped and received assetdata; and responsive to the determining failing to detect the existenceof any discrepancies between the shipped and received asset data,allowing modification of the status data from the first status to the atleast one second status.
 33. The method of claim 29, wherein the firststatus comprises an in-transit status, and wherein the at least onesecond status comprises a received status.
 34. A method for use withmanaging inventory within the infrastructure of a technology serviceprovider, the method comprising: first receiving, at a processing engineas part of at least a first process, first asset data identifying atleast one part to be used within the infrastructure, wherein the firstasset data comprises at least one part identifier and at least onemanufacturer identifier; accessing a database that includes a pluralityof part and manufacturer identifiers corresponding to parts used withinthe infrastructure; locating the part and manufacturer identifiers ofthe first asset data in the database; determining, using the processingengine, that at least one of the part and manufacturer identifiers is analias part or manufacturer identifier of a first master part identifieror a first manufacturer identifier in the database; and replacing, inthe first process, the at least one alias part or manufactureridentifier with the first master part identifier or first mastermanufacturer identifier.
 35. The method of claim 34, further comprising:second receiving, at the processing engine as part of at least a secondprocess, second asset data identifying at least one part to be usedwithin the infrastructure, wherein the second asset data comprises atleast one part identifier and at least one manufacturer identifier;accessing the database; locating the part and manufacturer identifiersof the second asset data in the database; determining, using theprocessing engine, that at least one of the part and manufactureridentifiers is an alias part or manufacturer identifier of the firstmaster part identifier or first master manufacturer identifier in thedatabase; and replacing, in the second process, the at least one aliaspart or manufacturer identifier with the first master part identifier orfirst master manufacturer identifier, wherein the first and secondprocesses correspond to use of the same exact part within theinfrastructure.
 36. The method of claim 34, wherein the part identifiercomprises an internal code, and HECI code or a CLEI code.
 37. The methodof claim 34, wherein the at least one first process comprises at leastone of a movement of a quantity of the at least one part between firstand second infrastructure locations, a movement of a quantity of the atleast one part between an infrastructure location and a location outsideof the infrastructure location, a movement of a quantity of the at leastone part between first and second locations outside of theinfrastructure, a search of a database of infrastructure assets forfulfilling BOM line items, and a loading of part and/or manufactureridentifiers into a database of customer part information.
 38. The methodof claim 34, wherein the at least one part identifier corresponds to akit of parts.